UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (WUSA) - Residents around the region are awaiting the return of power and welcoming the arrival of utility crews.

Paul Spann said, "There's my box, I usually plug in right here. At night, I plug right there, everything as you can see if plugged directly in to the wall. "

Electricity isn't a luxury for Paul Spann. He needs it to power his wheelchair and his bed. His battery has lasted the past 12 hours

"If I go through today and I don't have it by tonight, I'm going to be in a pickle. So all joking aside, we need electricity asap," he said.

With the power down, Spann laid low and waited for Pepco to come fix it. "I have never been so excited to see white trucks roll up in this neighborhood," he said.

Spann greeted the three-man team in his front yard when they showed up, including crew chief Waykene Nelson, who said,"We're on call 24/7." Nelson has worked at Pepco for 26 years and appreciates that people want their power back on for all different reasons.

His crew works 16 hour days until power is restored to the entire service area. While Sandy didn't hit as hard as past storms, Nelson knew it would mean a few long days getting everyone back online.
"I looked out the window and just shook my head, had the phone in my hand waiting ," he said.

And as soon as the power's back on at the Spann's house, it's on to the next one.

"People feel so out of place and inconvenienced with their power being off, and getting them back on, it's like helping them out so much, and they really appreciate it. We get a lot of thank yous," Nelson said.